[CQ-Contest] Evolution of the ARRL DX Exchange

[W6UM at aol.com]

The changes in the ARRL DX Contest exchange over the  years have been with 
the intent of making it more enjoyable and accessible for  all, especially for 
the DX stations.  
Many years ago the exchange sent by both W/VE and DX was  RST+ a 3-digit 
arbitrary number. The arbitrary number was self-selected, not a  serial number, 
and thus remained constant during the contest. The exchange was  then changed 
for both W/VE and DX to RST+ a 3-digit number, where the number was  the power 
input in watts. One big reason for the change was to enable getting a  valid 
contest exchange from a not-in-the-contest DX station wandering onto the  band 
during the contest. It was much easier just to ask for his power than to  
explain the business about an arbitrary number. 
One memorable incident during this time occurred when an  unaware EA6, much 
needed by all as a new multiplier, came on 15 meters and  created a pileup 
answering his initial CQ. The first W he worked asked for his  power, and the EA 
held down his key to read the meter and give an accurate  reply. Apparently his 
power supply couldn’t take the duty factor, and his signal  wavered for a 
while and then quit entirely. W4KFC, among the hopefuls waiting on  frequency, 
then went on and said “ I guess that makes his power  000”. 
With the widespread use of electronic keyers instead of  bugs, it was not 
possible to send long dashes for zeros, so many stations began  using 
alphanumeric representations to indicate their power. KH6IJ used to send  “ooo”, three 
dashes at a time. 
RST values sent for a while were reasonably  representative. For many years “
579” was the standard, but the macho desire to  give and receive bigger 
numbers has led to the point that “5NN” is now the  defacto preamble for what 
follows. Most signals now are not S9, and many are not  T9 either. 
The contest exchange was finally changed to its present  format, RST + 
state/province for W/VE and RST + power for DX. This definitely  makes the contest 
more interesting and enjoyable for the DX stations. For them  also, having some 
choice of an alphanumeric representation of their power allows  some degree 
of creativity. A unique power value serves as an identifier, which  helps in 
the instances when the DX station sends his call rarely but sends his  power 
with each QSO. The way a station decides to indicate his power on cw can  be 
similar to his choice of phonetics on ssb: whatever works best and requires  the 
fewest repeats. In ’08 and previously, DX stations with very similar calls  
purposefully chose different power indicators to help minimize confusion. There  
are many different ways to indicate “1KW”. It appears the ARRL log robot will 
 accept a wide variety of alphanumeric combinations for power, even with  
different numbers of digits. Thus far, four digits seems to be  sufficient…. 
Based on DX activity, the rules and the required exchange  do not seem to be 
seriously limiting participation. Any changes considered  should only to be to 
make it better for them, not for us. 
Chas.,  W6UM



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